Developing Your Emotional Intelligence

By: Natalie Ebel

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the set of skills and abilities that allow us to function well in life. Our EQ involves our interpersonal relationships, how we manage stress, how we make decisions, how we regulate and express emotion and how we think about ourselves.

Your IQ gets you hired, but your EQ gets you promoted. The people who you love working with, who are self-aware and who are happy are likely to have high EQ.

“Emotional intelligence allows you to self-assess and be bold enough to make change,” says Conflict Management Instructor, Janine Higgins.

Going Beyond Your 9-to-5

Janine’s course, Developing Your Emotional Intelligence, is a course for everyone and not just in a professional setting, but in your personal lives as well.

One of Janine’s top tips in dealing with conflict is to be mindful of how extreme your emotions are.

“You get to control the degree of emotional intensity you feel. You don’t have to make the decision to feel outraged. You could say, ‘I’m upset.’ You don’t have to be devastated by something. You could say, ‘I’m disappointed.’ Assess every situation in a way that has less drama.”

Emotional Intelligence is the Hallmark of Leadership

42% of mangers’ time is spent dealing with conflict. Janine’s course acknowledges that it doesn’t have to be that way by helping students look at how to prevent conflict effectively, how to be more self-aware and how to limit stress.

What to Expect

Developing Your Emotional Intelligence offers three days in class, where students will learn to use emotion in appropriate decision making, develop assertiveness skills and discuss ways to better manage stress. The workshop will also delve into more introspective topics, such as impulse control, to what degree you feel independent, how you feel about yourself and your overall self-esteem.

Find out more about Developing Your Emotional Intelligence.